The Princess and the Thief
by krisblue
Summary: What would happen if a young Regina met the thief Robin Hood?


Regina lay in bed for hours, gazing at the violet canopy covering her bed. She felt trapped in her mother's grasp from the moment she woke up to the moment she fell asleep. Today, after yet another fight about her riding pants, Cora got rid of all of them in a puff of magic. It seemed that nothing was royal enough for her mother, there was always more to be and more to do in order to get there.

Regina finally gave up on sleeping and made her way to the cushioned window seat beyond her bed, passing the painting of her beloved horse. She sighed, realizing that she'd have to get some new pants one way or another to properly ride her horse. Looking out the window at the long expanse of grass, lit by the soft glow of the moon, the most absurd thought came over her. Well, absurd by her mother's standards. She could, possibly, go on a little walk to the seamstress down in the village; a seamstress that her mother would not know about.

Regina struggled with herself for a moment; if she was found by her mother, the punishments would rain down on her harder than ever before. However, she really needed those pants. With her luck, her mother would have already threatened the royal seamstress against making Regina anymore riding pants.

She scrambled out of the window seat, tugging her night gown off and rushing to her closet. She replaced the night gown with a simple white dress, covering it with a long grey cloak. It would not do for anyone to recognize Regina in the village. She swept the cloak's hood right over her head, casting a shadow across her features.

Attempting to be as quiet as possible, Regina left her chambers. She went down the old stairs that the serving staff used in order to get to the kitchens. She at least had a fighting chance if she managed to stay in the servants area, her mother would not approach this area of the castle unless a servant did something that would need her magical expertise to smooth out.

In the castle, they had an old cook that seemed to do nothing else but sleep. He usually left the backdoor of the kitchens ajar, in order to sleep on the other side of it... Away from all the heat and smoke of the kitchens. It was the perfect place for her to go through, there were barely any guards in this part of the castle and she could walk right out of the backdoor to the trail leading to the village.

Regina felt lucky, as she spied the open door and the sleeping cook leaning against the wall besides the door. There had been few servants around and she made sure to cover her face well, as she made her way to the door. She quietly slipped through the door, making her way through the grass in the direction of the trail. Minutes later, she looked back to find the castle becoming smaller and smaller. She had succeeded in leaving the grounds, she felt very accomplished as she gazed around her.

Turning around, Regina felt a rough hand forcefully cover her mouth. She attempted to scream but it was already too late, her attacker had a firm grip on her arms, forcing them behind her back, and a hand covering her mouth. He led her to a cluster of trees, finally letting go of her as they become obscured from the castle.

"I cannot believe that my biggest heist was almost ruined by a little thief!" The stranger shouted at Regina. He ran his hand through his already tousled blond hair, flexing his green-clad arms in the process. Regina was confused by the whole situation, as fear laced her insides. She had really messed up, why couldn't she just go to bed? She had to think fast, this thief obviously assumed that she had robbing the castle on her mind too. The only way for her to get out of this was to go along with what he was saying. If she convinced him that they should do it together, she could alert the guards of the thief as soon as they reached the castle.

Regina took a few cautionary steps away from the thief, mustering her bravest voice she said, "It is a matter of opinion whose heist was ruined, to be fair." The thief narrowed his blue eyes at her, "How were you planning on getting into the castle? Sweet talking the guards into opening the door?"

The thief had obviously been meaning to use the kitchen door to enter the castle, how he had known of the old cook's habit was beyond her. She decided to be honest about this part, too many lies and she'll slip up before they even make it to the door. "The same way you were planning to enter the castle, the kitchen door in the back," she said, securing the cloak over her head, as it had come loose.

"Damn it, Little John!" The thief cursed into the air, "He forgot to mention that the backdoor was common knowledge around here." He looked at her, picking up the bow that he had leaning against the tree behind him, "It is best for the both of us to leave this one. I doubt that the open kitchen back door remains open if you have heard of it too."

Regina's plan crumbled, how could she convince him to get to the castle now? She could not think of a way to even justify her knowledge without giving herself away. There was no way in which she could get back to alert the guards now, the only way out was to retreat away with him. He was probably heading back to the village, she would lose him there and head to the seamstress. She decided that it would be more dangerous for her if he realized that he had the princess of the castle with him rather than some common thief.

"That would be wise," she exclaimed, following the thief through the cluster of trees onto the trail leading down to the village. The thief slung his bow over his shoulder, leading the way down to the village.


End file.
